I’m Trying Not To Ruin This For Everyone

I’m Corey Griswold. I have been cordially invited to participate as a member in full standing on The Goose’s Roost. Is “on” the right word? Like I’m on Supermarket Sweep or something? “With” the Goose’s Roost? Whatever.

You may have heard me on the radio before. For that, I apologize. I’m not very good at it. I prefer to write, so getting an opportunity to write with some interesting fellas is something that I am looking forward to. Actually, I asked Ryan to write some posts for the Roost before. He turned me down, twice. It wasn’t a “you’re terrible and we don’t like your kind here” kind of turn down. Ryan wanted me to have my own blog and write from there. I have neither the skill, time, or ability to do such a thing. I will be riding the coattails of others.

I have some thoughts on our local teams for now, and some other things. I’ll write further and in more depth when something interesting happens.

Your in-flight music selection.

THIS SABRES SEASON WILL BE RIVETING. HA! GET IT?

Sorry.

No really, I want to see if anyone gets fired. Lindy Ruff and Darcy Regier have been in town for a very long time. They have explored success and failure together. This season, though, seems like the worst it has been under their tenure. This start to the Sabres’ season has seen the team look flat out uncoordinated and confused on the ice at times. It looks like they have no idea what they are doing. Ruff can be accused of many coaching failures (power play, backup goaltenders, young goal scoring forwards, ect.) but I have not had reason to accuse Ruff of having a completely sloppy team before. Not just sloppy periods of play – sloppy team period. I wonder how long that can continue.

It isn’t that they look like they are being beaten by teams that are more talented than them (although you could probably make a case for that.) It looks like they don’t know how to play professional hockey. Thats a coach thing.

So let’s see if he gets fired.

But wait, what about Regier? I don’t know. Thats the fun of it! What the hell is going to happen to this team if it all goes down like a U-Boat attack? It would be way more interesting than talking about Drew Stafford maturing for the third year in a row.

I’m rooting for the firewagon season more for the Sabres than for the Bills. With the Bills I know what is going to happen. The Sabres are a complete mystery in a spot like that. It’s fascinating.

THE BILLS ARE FUN BECAUSE OF THEIR QUARTERBACK

It is now possible to be both fun and not good as an NFL quarterback. Ryan Fitzpatrick has cost his team three games through poor play (New England, Kansas City, and Chicago.) He throws ridiculous interceptions at the worst possible time. With this, I still wouldn’t want anyone else for this season. He still makes the game exciting, and somehow finds a way to incorporate everyone into the passing game. Roscoe Parrish was catching passes for Christ’s sake.

SIDEBAR: Dick Jauron should never be allowed near an offense again. Parrish can’t be a wide receiver? Really? You can’t get this guy the ball in any way possible? It took Chan Gailey four and a half minutes ot make him a weapon. Asscap.

Fitzpatrick makes these mistakes that in any other year would make us want him executed by ingesting hemlock, yet I don’t care. This year the Bills are supposed to be terrible. They are terrible. Yet this year I have liked them like I have not before. Probably since I was a kid. Think about the last time you REALLY liked the football team. I want to root for Fitzpatrick and Jackson (both of them) and Evans and Wood and Williams and… yes dare I say it… even Whitner.

I could write a whole column on Whitner.

THINGS WE SHOULD BE TALKING ABOUT AS A SOCIETY

Wide Receivers

The recent Monday Night Football game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals produced an interesting stat. The top three wide receivers in terms of touchdowns are, in order of highest amount, – Jerry Rice, Randy Moss, and Terrel Owens. Two of those three are self-absorbed to the point of borderline madness, and have been ejected by their team due to their misfunction. Two of the greatest receivers of all time, in a passing offense era, were told politely to leave.

Can someone tell me what has happened to make this generation of receivers as crazy as they are?

Chad Johnson thinks his last name is his number in mistranslated Spanish. It isn’t even proper Spanish, people! Where the hell is journalism on this? I want to know why some of the best players of our age at that position are absolutely out of their skulls.

Are all football players crazy and we just have more knowledge about crazy wideouts? Are they the tip of the crazy iceberg?

Sports Media Is, On The Whole, Terrible

I blame myself.

Hey, thanks Sports Illustrated for telling me that a sports agent may have paid college athletes and that collegiate sports might be on the whole, corrupt. You know when I needed this story? The day it happened. In no other business can a corruption scandal be uncovered ten years after the fact and still have it passed off as important, relevant investigative journalism. Name the topic. Steroids? About 15 years late. Money and college athletes? About 15 years late.

I have 14 people on ESPN setting me up for ONE football game on a Monday night (not counting the broadcast team who actually call the game! 14!). Can the sports leader spare one of them to do some legwork? There are real, interesting stories to be had out there, and 99 percent of the people in this industry want to tell me about Brett Farve’s recent injury.

We suck. Can it be fixed. I don’t know. Make us fix it.

BONUS: That agent story is pretty much written by the agent. Sports Illustrated worked about as hard as Readers Digest for that story.

Looking forward to a new Roost member. I like what you said about the agent story too. It was good to know, but like you said, it would have been better 15 years ago. Wait ’til someone “uncovers” what todays athletes are doing.